JEC
Member
Background
This project, like too many of my prior projects, started with obsessively looking at vehicles online for months. I've always admired HD trucks, but historically I've been more of an SUV man. We currently own a 2018 Lexus GX460 as our family daily driver, and I owned a 2007 LR3 for years, until recently.
My desire for an HD truck was somewhere between a need and a want. Aside from the cool factor of a turbo-diesel HD truck, I had practical reasons for buying one. I am on the road quite a bit for work lately, and I wanted a truck that was large enough to carry my all of my work gear and still get good gas mileage on the highway.
I also wanted an adventure vehicle that could comfortably fit my family of 5 for road trips, overland travel, and in the worst-case scenario, an extended evacuation or "bug-out". As great as our GX is, it can just barely support our family's storage needs for a local camping trip, much less extended travel. On top of that, it has a 300 mile max range on a good day.
I like to travel prepared, and that means extra water, fuel, supplies, and equipment. In an evacuation scenario that required us to live out of a vehicle for weeks (or longer) an SUV platform couldn't come close to providing enough space or payload for the supplies and gear I intend to take with us.
Fueling up after leaving the dealership
Enter the 2019 Ram 2500 Tradesman 4x4, nicknamed the "Big Rig" by my kids. I bought it with 92,000 miles on the clock. This one has an 8' long bed and the Cummins turbo-diesel, good for 850 lb-ft of torque. Ramtrucks.com has the payload at 2,830 lbs, with a max trailer weight rating of 19,350 lbs. The hardest part of finding a used HD truck was tracking down one with regular oil changes on record. Long beds were also hard to come by if you took all of the actual used work trucks off the table.
One of the highlights of the Cummins 6.7 engine so far is that I've gotten 21 mpg on the highway over my first 3,000 miles of driving. Paired with the 32 gallon fuel tank, that's good for 650+ miles of range on the highway. In an evacuation scenario, that kind of range would be a major advantage over my gas guzzling GX460. In a crisis, I would supplement the 32 gallons in the tank with an additional two 5-gallon jerry cans of diesel for another 200 miles or so of range. I keep the Ram topped off at all times. And yes, I have a case of DEF stashed with my evacuation supplies.
The Build
The goal of this truck project is to keep budget as low as possible, and to stay away from Gucci modifications that would rack up cost. Modifications will focus on capability over looks, so don't expect 40's and AEV bumpers any time in the near future (although don't hold me to that forever). I specifically went for a Tradesman model, the most basic option you can get from Ram. My particular truck had everything I wanted, and nothing I didn't. It's intended to be a work truck, which is perfect for me. I'd rather not have fancy electronics that can break.
On top of keeping budget down, I like the idea of having more of a "gray man" vehicle that doesn't draw unnecessary or unwanted attention. While the truck is big -- and it really is big -- keeping it relatively stock-looking should help it blend in. My GX460 with a bull bar, rear bumper, etc gets a lot of attention. It's a fun conversation starter around town, but not ideal in hotel parking lots, trailheads, or in a crisis scenario.
Comms
The first order of business for the truck was getting my comms squared away. For a GMRS radio, I went with the 15-watt Macromobile from Midland. The mic/control unit is hanging from a Bulletpoint mount, which has been solid. The radio is hooked up to Midland's 6db ghost antenna.
For my mobile HAM radio, I opted for the 50-watt Yaesu FTM-300. I've had good experiences with Yaesu in the past, and this unit has been no exception so far.
Mounting brackets for both antennas came from American Radio Supply, and are excellent.
Wheels/Tires
Wheels from the factory are 18" steel wheels that look at home on a work truck.
Thankfully the dealership I bought the truck from mounted brand new Goodyear Wrangler Adventure A/T's in 275/70 R18 (33.2"). I'm looking forward to getting these off pavement to test their performance. The main drawback will be the inability to air down significantly, but on paper they are a solid tire, and they've been great on road so far.
Up next is the camper shell...
This project, like too many of my prior projects, started with obsessively looking at vehicles online for months. I've always admired HD trucks, but historically I've been more of an SUV man. We currently own a 2018 Lexus GX460 as our family daily driver, and I owned a 2007 LR3 for years, until recently.
My desire for an HD truck was somewhere between a need and a want. Aside from the cool factor of a turbo-diesel HD truck, I had practical reasons for buying one. I am on the road quite a bit for work lately, and I wanted a truck that was large enough to carry my all of my work gear and still get good gas mileage on the highway.
I also wanted an adventure vehicle that could comfortably fit my family of 5 for road trips, overland travel, and in the worst-case scenario, an extended evacuation or "bug-out". As great as our GX is, it can just barely support our family's storage needs for a local camping trip, much less extended travel. On top of that, it has a 300 mile max range on a good day.
I like to travel prepared, and that means extra water, fuel, supplies, and equipment. In an evacuation scenario that required us to live out of a vehicle for weeks (or longer) an SUV platform couldn't come close to providing enough space or payload for the supplies and gear I intend to take with us.
Fueling up after leaving the dealership
Enter the 2019 Ram 2500 Tradesman 4x4, nicknamed the "Big Rig" by my kids. I bought it with 92,000 miles on the clock. This one has an 8' long bed and the Cummins turbo-diesel, good for 850 lb-ft of torque. Ramtrucks.com has the payload at 2,830 lbs, with a max trailer weight rating of 19,350 lbs. The hardest part of finding a used HD truck was tracking down one with regular oil changes on record. Long beds were also hard to come by if you took all of the actual used work trucks off the table.
One of the highlights of the Cummins 6.7 engine so far is that I've gotten 21 mpg on the highway over my first 3,000 miles of driving. Paired with the 32 gallon fuel tank, that's good for 650+ miles of range on the highway. In an evacuation scenario, that kind of range would be a major advantage over my gas guzzling GX460. In a crisis, I would supplement the 32 gallons in the tank with an additional two 5-gallon jerry cans of diesel for another 200 miles or so of range. I keep the Ram topped off at all times. And yes, I have a case of DEF stashed with my evacuation supplies.
The Build
The goal of this truck project is to keep budget as low as possible, and to stay away from Gucci modifications that would rack up cost. Modifications will focus on capability over looks, so don't expect 40's and AEV bumpers any time in the near future (although don't hold me to that forever). I specifically went for a Tradesman model, the most basic option you can get from Ram. My particular truck had everything I wanted, and nothing I didn't. It's intended to be a work truck, which is perfect for me. I'd rather not have fancy electronics that can break.
On top of keeping budget down, I like the idea of having more of a "gray man" vehicle that doesn't draw unnecessary or unwanted attention. While the truck is big -- and it really is big -- keeping it relatively stock-looking should help it blend in. My GX460 with a bull bar, rear bumper, etc gets a lot of attention. It's a fun conversation starter around town, but not ideal in hotel parking lots, trailheads, or in a crisis scenario.
Comms
The first order of business for the truck was getting my comms squared away. For a GMRS radio, I went with the 15-watt Macromobile from Midland. The mic/control unit is hanging from a Bulletpoint mount, which has been solid. The radio is hooked up to Midland's 6db ghost antenna.
For my mobile HAM radio, I opted for the 50-watt Yaesu FTM-300. I've had good experiences with Yaesu in the past, and this unit has been no exception so far.
Mounting brackets for both antennas came from American Radio Supply, and are excellent.
Wheels/Tires
Wheels from the factory are 18" steel wheels that look at home on a work truck.
Thankfully the dealership I bought the truck from mounted brand new Goodyear Wrangler Adventure A/T's in 275/70 R18 (33.2"). I'm looking forward to getting these off pavement to test their performance. The main drawback will be the inability to air down significantly, but on paper they are a solid tire, and they've been great on road so far.
Up next is the camper shell...
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